Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The Government of Gujarat has announced the state’s first Heritage Tourism Policy. The policy permits use of historic buildings (pre-1950 historical buildings) such as heritage palaces and forts, as heritage hotels, heritage museums, heritage banquet halls and heritage restaurants etc.
Under the policy, the State Government will offer an aid of Rs. 5 – 10 crore for renovation of these heritage structures.

Notes:
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan government to develop the MSME ecosystem in the state.
This is the initiative of the Department of Industries, Rajasthan to provide financial and technical support to MSMEs in the state. The state has also amended the MSME Act to promote industries and exempt businesses from permissions and inspections for three years.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated 1.75 lakh houses built under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin in over 12000 villages in Madhya Pradesh.
The Prime Minister also released the ‘Griha Pravesham’ plaque to mark the occasion. The 1.75 lakh houses are a part of the total of 18 lakh houses constructed across the country under the scheme. The work has also been completed in 35 to 40 days, instead of the usual time of 125 days.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and France’s ENGIE group have signed a long-term loan of up to Rs 466 crore to set up a 200-MW solar power project in Gujarat.
The project that is to be developed in the Raghanesda Solar Park, is expected to be commissioned in the first half of 2021. Electro Solaire Private Limited (ESPL), a special purpose vehicle owned by the ENGIE group, will implement the project.

Notes:
The United Kingdom (UK) has entered into an Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan.
This partnership is seen as a historic move, since this is the first trade agreement signed by the UK post Brexit. The agreement is said to foster trade between the two countries by about 15 billion Euros.

Notes:
Indian technology major Infosys has announced to acquire the European firm GuideVision.
Guidevision is one of the largest service sector enterprises in Europe, which is into service management consultancy specialised in offering strategic advisory. The acquisition agreement would cost Infosys up to 30 million Euro, which includes earn outs and bonuses.

Notes:
Every year on September 14th, India celebrates “Hindi Diwas”(Hindi Day).
On Sep 14, 1949 Hindi became the official language of the nation. This decision was ratified by the Constitution on January 26, 1950. Hindi written in the Devanagari script has been adopted as the official language Under Article 343 of the Indian Constitution.

Notes:
National Engineers Day is celebrated on September 15 across the country, to mark the birth anniversary of eminent engineer M Visvesvaraya.
Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya was born on September 15, 1861 in Karnataka. He served as the Chief engineer in Mysore and had contributed to several technical projects in Hyderabad, Mysore, Maharashtra and Odisha, including the block system of irrigation in the Deccan canals.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sameer Kumar Khare as new Executive Director of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The veteran bureaucrat has been appointed to the post for a tenure of three years. Sameer Kumar is a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. He is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under Ministry of Finance.

Notes:
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen delivered her first annual State of the European Union address.
During the address, she urged the EU members to build a stronger European health union. She also announced the creation of a new agency for biomedical advanced research and development (BARDA). She also proposed to convene a global health summit next year.